USA Road Trip 2019

Woke up around 4:30am starving hungry. I completed our blog in bed then got ready for the day ahead.

By 8.00am, we were back out treading the sidewalks of Chicago. We jumped on a train on the Red Line with all the other commuters, switched to the Blue Line and got off at Clinton.

After a short walk, we arrived at the famous Lou Mitchell’s Restaurant which is generally believed to be the start of Route 66. Lou Mitchell’s Restaurant is a classic American Diner which has featured in numerous movies including Ali, The Weatherman & The Watcher. Presidents Obama, Bush & Carter have also eaten there over years.

Jackie ordered a skillet of eggs & bacon, whilst I had thick French Toast swimming in maple syrup & fluffy butter. Both washed down with unlimited cups of the ‘Worlds Best’ coffee. It was absolutely delicious, obviously helped by the fact that we were starving.

Fully satiated, we paid up & left. Outside I took a couple of photos of the restaurant, which having it’s windows & pavement washed. As I was doing this a big black car had pulled up & I overheard one of the employees say to 2 posh women “We will ready for you in just one minute”. As we walked away Jackie told me that there was definitely a VIP in the back of the car because the women were talking to someone in the back of the car & they had a couple of vehicles on blue lights escorting them. I was tempted to go back, but didn’t want to appear like some sad celebrity stalker.

We walked down to the Willis Tower, formerly known as Sears Tower. Allegedly it is still the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere & was the world’s tallest building when it was built in 1973. Looking up we could see the protruding glass floors that visitors could stand on for just $25 per person. Why?

We made our way along N LaSalle Street until we arrived at the Chicago river. We followed the Riverwalk down Wacker Drive & admired the awe inspiring buildings including the Reid, Murdoch & Co Building, Marina City & The Langham Chicago to name a few. We photo’d the Heald Square Monument & The Gentlemen statue.

We passed Trump Tower, popped into The Wrigley Building, then stopped at Peet’s Coffee & Tea for a coffee & mainly so I could use the loo. After our enforced pit stop, we passed the iconic Tribune Tower, then head north on a train on the Red Line.

We alighted at Fullerton in the Lincoln Park district of Chicago. After a short walk, we found our venue of interest - The Biograph Theatre. It gained it’s notoriety as the place where infamous bank robber, John Dillinger was shot dead by the FBI on 22nd July 1934.

After taking the obligatory photo, I looked at the buildings opposite & was amazed to see that in the diminutive Lincoln Hall, Billy Bragg was advertised as playing there for 3 nights starting on Thursday. Sadly that is the day we leave Chicago, otherwise we would have had to have gone.

Next stop, just down the road was Oz Park, presumably because of the random Wizard of Oz statues randomly erected around the park. The park was generally a bit scruffy, but quite busy.

Next a Parking Lot off N Clark St, just a 10 minute walk from Oz Park. So why were we here Jackie asked, well because it was the scene of the St. Valentines Day Massacre. There was not a lot to see, but it was still worth a visit if interested in historical criminal events.

For those who don’t know, the St. Valentines Day Massacre was the murder of 7 members of the North Side Gang in 1929. They were lined up against a garage wall & shot by assailants wearing police uniform. The perpetrators were never officially identified, but they were believed to be a gang working for Al Capone, as well as Chicago Police Officers exacting revenge for the death of a Police Officer’s son.

Next on our itinerary was Lincoln Park Zoo, which is free entry - thank god....It was generally all a bit sad. We started in the African area, but just a procession of empty enclosures. We only saw 2 giraffes, the rhinos were having an indoors day & no sign whatsoever of the lions.

Next we came across a polar bear swimming in a pool, when I say swimming, it was going round & round in a small circle making the same jittery movements over again. It wasn’t nice to watch. The polar bear was also going bald & there was sign saying it was allergy related, although quite frankly it was more likely to be stressed related.

Next was a solitary meerkat that was stationary & looked scared out of its wits. We went into the bird house, where we saw exotic birds housed in small indoor enclosures. We also saw a red kangaroo lying on its back in such an awkward way, that it wouldn’t surprise me if it was dead. The zebras looked sad, the camels looked scruffy mainly because they were moulting, but one also had a hump that had flopped down it’s side. All very depressing.

The only highlight at the zoo were the gorillas. There were 7 or 8 gorillas that looked healthy & had a nice enclosure to live & play in.

Interesting Fact : The zoo purchased it’s first animal in 1872 - a bear cub for $10.

We didn’t hang around at the zoo & caught a bendy CTA bus back to the city centre. It was now 2.30pm so decided to go & have a rest at the hotel before going out later.

Around 6.00pm, we were back out heading up the Magnificent Mile to The John Hancock Center, the 2nd tallest building in Chicago. As we looked up to the top we could see some minute multi coloured rectangles. These were the TILT booths the tilt out 30 degrees in the 360 Chicago Observation Deck on the 94th floor. This treat cost just $25 per person - No Thank You.

Instead we smugly took the lift, which took literally just a couple of seconds, to the FREE Signature Lounge on the 96th floor. There was a queue for window seats, so we joined ‘anywhere else will do’ line and were immediately shown to a table with a wholly satisfactory view.

The waitress came over with a menu & I was pleasantly surprised to see the prices weren’t extortionate. We ordered a beer each at just over $10 each. I was not so amused when the waitress returned with a small bottle for Jackie & an even smaller can for me.

I had intended for us to stay until sunset at 7.40pm, but after 40 minutes of nursing the same drink (I was too tight to buy another one) we were bored so we left. In any event, I had walked around the Lounge & taken enough photos in every direction. Tip - It is probably best not to have a window seat, because idiots like me are prodding their cameras around your head trying to get the perfect aerial shot of Chicago!

In the lobby on the ground floor of The John Hancock Center, we found a decorative light globe thing worthy of a photo. I got Jackie to pose next to it as I snapped her. It was at this point that an old boy in uniform who clearly worked there came over & asked if we would like a photo of us both. We agreed, but shouldn’t have bothered because my eyes were shut!

The old boy said that he doesn’t normally offer, but he likes the Brits because we were polite. Then out of the blue he asked, “Is Tommy Robinson still in prison?” I replied, “I don’t know, I think so”, to which the old boy declared “I like Tommy Robinson. He should be your next Prime Minister”. We made our excuses & left.

I then marched Jackie all the way back down the Magnificent Mile (now not so Magnificent in Jackie’s eyes) to the Michigan - Wacker Historic District. When we finally got there, Jackie looked on miserably as I tried to take some photos of the buildings now all lit up.

Feeling under pressure to get on with it so we could get something to eat, I snapped away randomly & generally got on Jackie’s nerves. Sadly I shouldn’t have bothered, the photos all turned out to be blurry & rubbish.

Next we hunted out the famous ‘Billy Goat Tavern’. It was down a dark & dingy road under the bright lights of the Magnificent Mile above. We nearly decided to find somewhere else, but so glad we didn’t. It was an old fashioned bar full of memorabilia & bonus, pints of Billy Goat lager were just $4.

The nice bar manager on hearing we were British came over for a chat & gave us a detailed description of the history of the bar. In summary, the original Billy Goat Tavern was opened up in 1937 by a Greek immigrant, William Sianis. It was then situated across from the Chicago stadium. Sianis got the nickname ‘Billy Goat’ when a goat fell off a passing lorry & he kept as a pet.

The Chicago Cubs got to the baseball finals around that time & Sianis bought 2 tickets for him & his goat. Allegedly Sianis was refused entry because of the goat, so he cursed the team that they would never win the finals in his lifetime. They didn’t & have only since recently won it in 2016.

The Billy Goat Tavern is still a family run business & moved to its current location in 1964. The Tavern was frequented by influential newspaper editors & sports journalists, notably from the Chicago Tribune. BGT became famous, when a news person joined Saturday Night Live on NBC & wrote a sketch about the Tavern.

The Tavern also has a grill & we each ordered a Double Cheezborger (That is how they are spelt). After adding our own gherkins & onions, I wolfed mine down - so lovely. I then committed ‘Crime of the Century’ by suggesting we have another. After much negotiation to justify I wasn’t a ‘greedy bastard’, I ordered a single Cheezborger just for me.

After a 2nd pint, it was only 9.00pm, but we were knackered so we paid up, trooped up the MM for a finally time & went to bed.

Fitbit shows we took 24,800 steps today around 11.5 miles.

Song of the Day - Chicago by Frank Sinatra.

Bonus Songs of the Day :-

Waiting for the Great Leap Forwards by Billy Bragg
St Valentines Day Massacre by Mark Foggo’s Skasters
At The Zoo by Simon & Garfunkel
The Magnificent Seven by The ClashRead more